What’s up, guys?
Sean Nalewanyj, www.SeanNal.com and a couple weeks back I posted a video talking about
cardio and its effect on muscle growth.
And in that video one of the main points that I’ve made was that even though cardio technically
isn’t a must in order to lose bodyfat and get lean, since you can do that through dieting
alone if you really want to, I still recommend that pretty much everyone out there do some
form of cardio throughout the week, two to three sessions is a good guideline because
it’s just something that’s good for your physical and mental health and your overall
quality of life especially if you are relatively sedentary outside of weight training.
You know, our body’s evolved to move and it’s not normal to be stationary throughout
most of the day especially if you’re spending a lot of time sitting.
And a few people responded to that video saying that they don’t do cardio basically because
they just hate it and they can’t stand doing it and so they aren’t able to stay consistent.
And that’s a very common thing with bodybuilders or just anybody who lifts weight in general,
in that they enjoy weight training but they just find cardio to be really tedious and
so they end up doing very little to no cardio at all.
And I was the same way with this.
I literally went for years just doing weight training alone with no cardio whatsoever on
top of that.
I was basically just doing three to four weight training sessions per week and then spending
the bulk of my time working on my business which was just me sitting on my laptop totally
immobile for most of the day.
And I can say without question that performing cardio regularly throughout the week in combination
with weight training has made a very big difference to where my mood is better, I sleep more easily,
I have better focus and I just feel physically and mentally a lot better when I’m doing
cardio consistently.
So the simple tips that I wanted to give in this video is that if you’re someone who
really doesn’t like doing cardio but you know that you should be doing some, keep in
mind that there are literally an endless number of different ways that you can perform cardio
and that it doesn’t have to be limited to a traditional gym setting only where you’re
running on treadmill or cycling on a stationary bike.
I think one of the main reasons why so many lifters hate doing cardio is because it’s
just get boring in general and it feels really tedious.
You’re just stuck in one spot repeating the same motion over and over and over again.
And if it’s a regular low intensity session then there’s no period of rest and you’re
going to be doing it for probably thirty to forty minutes or more.
The truth is that any activity that gets your heart rate consistently elevated and increases
your breathing and has you activating your large muscle group and just physically challenging
in general, anything that does that is going to burn calories and improve your cardiovascular
conditioning and it’s going to give you the physical and mental health benefits of
cardio.
So rather than looking at cardio in this very narrow way and forcing yourself to do a certain
type of cardio that you know you’re going to hate and just trying to power through it,
that might work in the short term but you’ll probably burn out pretty quickly and end up
quitting, not to mention that you’ll just be suffering the whole way through anyway.
So rather than doing that, instead just chose the types of cardio that you most prefer and
make your cardio workouts at least as fun and interesting as you can.
So if you can’t stand the treadmill or the stationary bike, there’s no need to use
that as one of your cardio method.
You could use a different machine, maybe a stair stepper or a rower or an elliptical,
or you can do what I do which is to rotate through a few different cardio machines in
the same workout.
For me the thought of doing a full cardio session in one spot just using one repetitive
movement, that really doesn’t appeal to me at all, and so what I do is break my cardio
session up into three sections by starting on the stair stepper then moving to the stationary
bike and then finishing on the treadmill.
And I found that just by switching that up and having a brief rest while I transition
from one machine to the other that makes all the difference right there and I’m able
to do my cardio consistently without too much of an issue.
I mean, it doesn’t mean that I love it.
I still find it challenging.
And I still way prefer weight training but it’s at least tolerable and the benefits
that it gives me once the cardio workout is over those benefits are well worth it.
Now, if you can’t stand regular cardio equipment altogether then there’s no need to force
yourself to do that either.
You could do bodyweight intervals, you could jump rope, you could go swimming, you could
hit a heavy bag, those are all totally fine options as well.
If you prefer the outdoors then go do something outside.
Go for a jog, go hiking, biking, kayaking, you could just go for a brisk walk, I mean
there’s just no end to the number of things that you could do and if you can find an activity
that you enjoy and that delivers those same cardio benefits then you’re getting the
best of both worlds.
You could also do something active in group setting for example.
I play dodgeball once a week in a drop-in league just for fun.
And that involves a lot of running and it’s usually pretty tiring so I’m getting a cardiovascular
benefit from it but I’m literally just having fun the whole time and running around and
not even thinking about it or treating it as a workout.
You could also do something like a TRX class, spin class, power yoga, even fast paced forms
of dancing could work if the duration is long enough.
Again, anything that gets your heart rate up where you’re breathing more heavily and
it’s physically demanding anything that does that can be used as a form of cardio.
So in my view there’s really no excuse to not be doing some cardio during the week because
if you just take some time and put a bit of thought into it you should easily be able
to come up with a list of different cardio methods or activities that you would enjoy
or that would at least be tolerable while still allowing you to get a good workout in.
And if you go about it that way there’s a way better chance that you’ll actually
stick to your cardio plan long term and your day-to-day life will just be more enjoyable
in general since you won’t be forcing yourself to unnecessarily suffer through a workout
that you really can’t stand doing.
Now like I’d mentioned in the other video from a couple of weeks ago, if you already
lived a physically active lifestyle outside of the gym or maybe you work a physically
demanding job then you probably don’t need to worry about specifically scheduling in
additional cardio workouts.
But if you’re like so many people out there who do their weight training and are basically
sedentary beyond that I highly recommend including a bit of extra cardio in your plan.
Cardio can actually improve recovery in between weight training if it’s a lower intensity
form.
It improves insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular conditioning, it’ll probably improve your
sleep quality and then it also has mental benefits as well by improving cognitive function,
boosting your mood, reducing anxiety and depression, reducing the risk of certain diseases, it’s
just a good thing to incorporate into an overall healthy lifestyle.
And as long as you keep the overall frequency and the duration moderated, so two to three
sessions per week I’d say for a maximum, and you’re spacing it out during the week
to maximize recovery it’s going to negatively interfere with muscle growth or strength gains
as long as your nutrition is on point.
So I hope this was helpful.
If you do want to grab a complete step-by-step plan that lays out a good balance between
both weight training and cardio along with nutrition plans, supplement guides and twelve
weeks of one-on-one email coaching then you can check out my body transformation blueprint
over at www.BodyTransformationTruth.com or by clicking here, the link is also in the
description box.
If you found these tips helpful make sure to share the video, hit the like button, leave
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And the official blog is over at www.SeanNal.com.
Thanks for watching, guys.
And I’ll see you in the next video.